Wednesday, November 29, 2017

I'm in love with Jersey Bennes!

I'm in love with Jersey Bennes!

No rants this week, just a rave. Yes, it’s Jersey Benne time and I’m eating my fill. I do have rather a lot to say about them though and some helpful tips to ensure you produce perfectly cooked DRY potatoes. Ewww I hate slimy spuds, especially leftovers. Read about them, if for no other reason than to be nosy! Jersey Bennes Oh, and I can’t decide whether to give them capital letters or not. Yesterday, I kept the name in lower case (jersey bennes) but today, it’s Jersey Bennes. Someone will bleat at me about it I expect.

Talking about leftovers, how to fry up leftover potatoes so they turn golden and crunchy? Do you get a better result using butter or oil, or a mix of both? Sizzled Potatoes

I’ve also brought back a great recipe I first posted when I started Shared Kitchen (December 2015). Buttery New Potatoes & Asparagus This is a great dish for Christmas day, but also for any day in spring or early summer while asparagus is still around.

My fave recipe of the week is Crispy Lamb Cutlets with Pea Mash & Golden Onions. It’s gorgeous, and with its fresh and minty flavours with sneaky dots of chilli, and crusty succulent fleshed lamb cutlets, it’s a real expression of spring. Frozen peas are great, and as they are snap-frozen in the field they usually contain more nutrients than ‘fresh’ peas, which may have been in the fruit & vege shop for several days. BUT I urge you NOT to buy frozen minted baby peas. Why? The mint has been mucked around with, smells weird and tastes medicinal. Far better to nip a few leaves off your own plant (or off your neighbour’s one!) so you can enjoy fresh mint as it should be. What? No herb garden? Well, there's a project for the weekend.

And there are notes on cumin seeds – how to toast them and develop flavour, and panko crumbs, or if you prefer, how to make breadcrumbs from scratch. Enjoy your week. And remember to use Shared Kitchen for all your recipe dilemmas, you know when you have an OMG moment (what am I going to serve with drinks/for dinner/for lunch, or what could I take as a shared plate???). Simply go to the Home Page of Shared Kitchen and select Recently Posted and scroll through the pages until something leaps out and says EAT ME (which translates as COOK ME). Got to laugh! Julie